


I'd know Him Anywhere

by Mari_Knickerbocker



Series: Like Two Ships in the Night [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 14:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3654210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mari_Knickerbocker/pseuds/Mari_Knickerbocker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was 2014 and she was in Cardiff that summer. Really it was just a lucky (or not) twist of fate that she found herself right there, on that day and in the right particular moment. She could hear the whirring gears as that old blue box touched down. Somethings just weren’t ever meant to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'd know Him Anywhere

She did not know what had possessed her to hide herself away in Wales of all places, but she had long ago forgone the act of scrutinizing her own reasons for these things. Her cabin in the mountains was becoming, had become, to convenient a place for others to locate her. That particular den had been compromised and in the wake of certain events she no longer trusted it as a secure location. (Which was a shame, she loved that cabin, had had it for decades now. A lot of fond memories). So she fled. If her fears proved to be misguided than the place would still be standing when she decided to return; if not, then the fail safe would not only take out the cabin but also anyone foolish enough to invade her territory. 

Losing the cabin would mean losing a significant part of her history; a blow to her spirit for certain. But if her long life had taught her anything, it was how to pick up the pieces and move on. Avery had faced and then accepted that unruly truth early on. So she had done what came naturally to her; she ran. Sometimes the greatest defensive maneuver one could employ was to run; it even served as a great offense.

She ran and her running feet took her back to Cardiff. The last time she was there it had been in the fall of 2007 about seven years ago now. She had been an unexpected (on their part) and unintentional (on hers) visitor to Torchwood Three then; locked up in the holding area of the Hub for a few weeks whilst SHIELD and Torchwood straightened out the collective red tape. _That had been a fun holiday._ She hadn’t much cared for Torchwood and their insistence that she had to be an alien. She’s seen a few aliens before then and met a handful more in the following years and honestly there were far more interesting things happening down here on Earth. But then again she’d never given much thought to what else could be going out there in the black starlight expanses. Avery always figured that if she lived long enough she’d find out for herself and if she didn’t well, she was never meant to know. 

She was sitting in a little café down by the Roald Dahl Plass enjoying a cup of tea staring at the seventy foot tall water tower. At one point in time Torchwood had lived and breathed underneath that water tower until the British government decided to blow it up. It hadn’t really surprise her when they had the Plass rebuilt; a gesture of apology for blowing it sky high. Absentmindedly she tapped out a rhythm on the weathered top of the bistro table. Her eyes traveled to the spot where a paving stone had once concealed the invisible lift into the Hub. Avery wondered what had become of the Torchwood team. _Where they all off living a safe and fulfilling life? Or had they all gone down with the ship?_

At least one of their members had the same ‘condition’ as her; the extravagantly flirty Captain Jack Harkness. Bumping into him in ’07 had not been planned but it had born unexpected fruit. She had been in need of a cheering up and Jack was always good for a laugh (or more). For a transplanted man from the 51st century, who once traveled with the Doctor and had spent a good hundred years (at least) on Earth, he could be incredible dense and close minded. It was always entertaining to watch him work out that he already knew her, and then just _when_ he’d seen her before. Jack could become resentful about that revelation. That like him, she 'could' not die. He resented the fact that she had been born with the ability, while he had been cursed (possibly) by a girl who did not understand the type of power she wielded. (He also didn’t care for the fact that she barely showed any signs of aging. Last time she saw him, he had been complaining about grey hairs). Avery would just listen to his bitter rant and remind him that at least he could still get drunk whereas she couldn’t. That was something truly worthy of resentment.

The breeze from the bay shifted bringing to her ears the whirring clamor of grinding gears. It was a familiar sound. Her eyes scanned quickly over the Plass. As the symphony of grating, whirling gears became louder Avery found her gaze drawn back to the spot where that old lift once hid. She watched with hooded eyes as a blue police phone box materialized out of thin air. She smiled at the sight.

Avery relaxed into her chair, attention glued on to the phone box with intensity the belied her casual pose.

One half of the blue doors popped open and a petite brunette stepped briskly out of the TARDIS. Avery recognized Clara and was pleased to see that she was still roaming about the universe with the Doctor. The girl had gumption and was not one to let the Doctor push her about. _Which is exactly what he needs._ He did not need anyone who would go fawning all over him sharing in his journeys, he got that enough from the locals he periodically ran into.

The Doctor followed just a step behind the girl. They were obviously in the middle of some sort of squabble. Or at least Avery assumed that the man following behind Clara was the Doctor. He was older from the last time she saw him. Instead of the young man with a great big chin this man looked to be someone in his fifties with salt and pepper hair and a well lined face. It was the oldest she had ever seen the man look so far.

She watched as they argued and wondered if she would like this version of the man, if he would even remember her. There had been times where they had crossed paths and the Doctor did not know her. But she knew him. It wasn’t everyday she heard the rhythmic double tap of two heartbeats working harmoniously together enclosed within the space of one rib cage.

Her face broke into a wide genuine grin as she watched those two resolve whatever was between them and climb back into the TARDIS. Avery chuckled to herself as that faithful blue box began to dematerialize. The Doctor and his Companion safely tucked away inside off to find the next great adventure. _Just as it should be._


End file.
